The invention relates generally to materials testing and more particularly to evaluating materials used in personal protective equipment.
Personal protective equipment is used to protect workers involved in the production, use and transportation of toxic and hazardous chemicals. It is also used by military personnel and those involved in cleaning up after a dispersion of toxic and hazardous chemicals, accidental or otherwise.
Certification testing is often performed according to standards set by ASTM International (American Society for Testing and Materials) and NFPA (National Fire Protection Association). This testing requires evaluating the materials used in personal protective equipment and determines the level of protection provided in various situations. Of particular interest is the permeability of the material. Permeation refers to the penetration of a chemical, whether in liquid, gas or vapor form, through a solid. It is related to the concentration of the chemical and properties of the material. Certification tests are also referred to as permeation challenges.
The current methods of conducting permeation challenges are often slow and inconsistent. The methods rely on gathering instantaneous breakthrough data on permeation by manually reading the results of individual analyzers for the number of test cells being tested. The results of these readings must then be manually entered into a computer for analysis, a slow process which limits the number of samples that can be run by an individual in a day. Additionally, the current process does not insure that each test cell experiences identical conditions due to the cell placement in the laboratory hood. Different areas in the hood may experience very different temperatures or other conditions.
Thus, a need exists for a system that can automatically generate liquid and vapor permeation challenge results that are statistically valid and repeatable. There is also a need for a system that provides cumulative, as well as instantaneous breakthrough analysis, control of the sample environment and ease of operator use and calibration.